My first year of birding

On December 30, 2021 By reneemarie31In natureLeave a comment

2021 was the year that I got into birds. I spent the whole year looking for birds, trying to identify as many as I could. It all started with the pair of cardinals that nested in my backyard. I became obsessed with my little cardinal family.

I learned about lots of different birds that I didn’t know anything about. I took pictures of every bird that I identified. They were all taken with my phone and many are blurry and zoomed in a bunch. I use the Merlin app to help me identify the birds.

I started going to the bird store. I bought bird feeders and baths to draw more birds to my house. I planned special outings, both in town and on vacation, to look for birds.

I only counted birds that I saw in the wild, was able to take a picture of, and was able to identify to the best of my ability. I ended the year with 56 different wild species added to my life list in Merlin, and 3 domestic species that don’t count in Merlin. Here is my 2021 list of birds:

Black-bellied whistling ducks in my neighborhood

Double-crested cormorants at Blue Cross. In the sky, in the trees, and in the water.

Wild turkeys in Great Smoky Mountains national park

Only identified this as an osprey, because the boat guide told me so. It was very far away.

Ruby throated hummingbird in my backyard

Really faraway picture, but a red-headed woodpecker

Northern cardinals. The family that got me into birds. I love the cardinals who live at my house.

I wonder what birds I will find in 2022!

Amelia Island

On July 8, 2021 By reneemarie31In TravelLeave a comment

We recently spent two whole weeks on Amelia Island in northeastern Florida. We rented an AirBnB, took the dogs on the road, and had a great home base to explore the area. We have had good experiences with our AirBnB’s on our last few trips. It ends up being cheaper than a hotel and with all the amenities of home, such as a fully stocked kitchen, washer and dryer, and yard for the dogs. The house was great and a short walk from the beach. Our hosts were great, and very responsive to any concerns. I know the dogs appreciate coming on vacation with us, rather than being boarded at home.

One cool thing about the neighborhood that we stayed in was that it is directly behind Fort Clinch State Park. This meant that there were often deer hanging out in the neighborhood, which was great fun to watch.

Little fawn that hung out in the back of the house behind ours all day waiting for his momma.

As I stated before, the beach was a short walk from our house. Fernandina Beach (which is the name of the town where we stayed) is known for shells and shark teeth that wash up on the shore. We spent a lot of time looking for shark teeth, but never found anything that we could definitely identify as one. We found plenty of triangular shaped things that could have possibly been shark teeth, but may have just been shell fragments. My daughter chooses to believe they were shark teeth.

The beach was dog-friendly, so even though I have two senior dogs (aged 14 and 15), it was their first ever trip to a beach! Thankfully, the beaches were usually pretty empty, because our dogs get a little too wound up when they see other people and dogs. We took them down there at a particularly down time so that they could explore a little.

One of the benefits of staying in a home on vacation is the money saved on eating out. There are a couple of grocery stores on the island and it was easy to buy things to cook. We did eat out at several restaurants during our two week stay, however.

Father’s Day lunch at Amelia Island Brewing Company Tavern

Another benefit of staying on the island for two whole weeks is that it leaves plenty of time for relaxing (I’m a big napper) and regular activities. My husband always likes to continue playing tennis on vacation. He found people to play with at the local park, and my daughter could hang out at the playground. Young children have a great ability to just make friends and play with anyone, so she had lots of fun playing with different children throughout our several trips to the park. She really appreciated having some kid friendly interactions, and I could sit on a bench and read (or end up pushing her and her new friends on the twirly playground equipment).

We were not far from downtown Fernandina Beach and visited several times on our trip. There are historic buildings, shops, restaurants, etc.

We visited this delightful little bookstore one night when walking around later than usual for us (the power was out at our house). It was one of the few stores open at night.

We visited the Amelia Island Museum of History. It is a small museum, but well done and interesting. There were some hands on things and a scavenger hunt to keep kids interested. The museum is housed in an old jail. Amelia Island is called the Isle of 8 Flags, because it is the only place in the U.S. which has been under 8 different flags of rule during its history.

One morning we took a boat tour with Amelia River Cruises to see Cumberland Island in Georgia. I love boat rides and the captain did a great job keeping us entertained with funny jokes and lots of history. We saw birds, dolphins, and the wild horses that live on the island. On the way back, my daughter got to take a turn driving the boat.

During our time on the Island, we visited a few different state parks. Fort Clinch State Park is the one directly behind the neighborhood where we stayed. There are trails, beaches, and also the fort, which we climbed and explored.

Little Talbot Island State Park is on the other side of the island. It is mostly just a beach. But I saw some cool birds and tortoises.

We also visited Big Talbot Island State Park. This one required a hike to get to the driftwood beach. We would have spent more time here, but it was quite hot.

One morning of our trip, we took a kayaking trip of Lofton Creek through Amelia Adventures. We had it scheduled for Father’s Day, but the weather cancelled our trip. We went the next day, however, and it was great, because we were the only ones on the tour. Another couple didn’t show up, so it was just us and the guide. My husband and daughter took a tandem kayak, and I had my own. The water is extremely still, so it was easy to navigate. I only got stuck on two trees. Ha! We saw alligators.

We played putt-putt one evening at Island Falls Adventure Golf. This was a fun putt-putt course with pretty backdrops.

One morning, we visited the Jacksonville Zoo. This was truly a great zoo. There were fun, interactive experiences. There was a wide variety of animals, and it was all very nicely set up. The zoo was a large loop. I highly recommend visiting this zoo if you are in the area.

Egan’s Creek Greenway was a park very close to our house. We visited different sections of it at different times. There were lots of trails and wildlife. We even happened upon a lane full of rabbits one evening, which was very special!

You may remember from previous posts that I have gotten really into birding lately. I had an opportunity to see so many birds on this trip! I added 12 new species to my 2021 bird list!

Overall, we had a great visit to Amelia Island. It’s a wonderful place to visit with lots to see, especially if you love nature.

Parrot Mountain

On June 12, 2021 By reneemarie31In TravelLeave a comment

My absolute favorite thing that I did on my recent trip to Pigeon Forge was my visit to Parrot Mountain. No one else in my extended family seemed particularly interested in going, so I borrowed my sister’s car and drove myself and my daughter up the mountain to see the parrots! I love any kind of animal encounter experience. These gardens are full of tropical birds to see, hold, and feed. It was heaven!

As you walk the paths, you come across so many different birds. Some just sitting on their perches, others in large cages.

They were all so beautiful and full of personality.

The place is clearly run by Christians with many spots throughout the gardens having Scripture quotes or religious statues. A reminder that we are among God’s creations.

Eventually, we came across an entrance to a “Secret Garden.” This led to a small enclosed aviary.

Next, we came across the first truly interactive portion of the gardens. There is a designated area with lots of parrots sitting on their perches. You can buy seeds from what looks like a candy dispenser for 25 cents per handful. Then you can walk around and hold your hand out flat and allow the parrots to eat seeds directly from your hand!

This was exciting enough until I came across one parrot who wanted to leave her perch and come onto my arm! I was so excited to hold her, even if she did try to eat the buttons on my shirt and take a little nibble at my purse!

She (or he) was so pretty and pink! I believe the name was Valentine!

We continued on to visit more birds.

Next, we went into another little aviary where you could feed the lorikeets. We had purchased tickets to get small cups of nectar for this experience. As soon as you walk in with the nectar, the birds are all over you. I loved it!

The gardens are so beautiful, as are the gorgeous birds.

The end of our visit was in the baby nursery. You walk inside and there are baby birds everywhere, hanging out in their little boxes. Many like to be held.

If you can’t already tell, I had a great time at Parrot Mountain. I highly recommend visiting if you are ever in Pigeon Forge. I would go back again and again to see the beautiful birds.

Birds on the Brain

On April 30, 2021 By reneemarie31In home, Louisiana, natureLeave a comment

Yesterday, my husband called me a birdbrain. He really meant that I always have birds on the brain, which is true. 2021 has been the year of birds for me. It all started last summer when we moved into our new house. Cardinals nested in one of the small trees in my backyard, and I became obsessed. I watched them closely throughout the whole process. Honestly, I’ve never really lived somewhere with a lot of trees before. My current neighborhood is a lot greener than all of my former homes.

So I watched my cardinals and at the beginning of this year (2021), I hung up a bird feeder. I started to notice different birds and about halfway through January, I decided that one of my goals for this year was going to be to learn about birds and identify as many different species as possible. I downloaded the Merlin bird identification app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and went to work.

Everywhere I have gone for the past four months, I look for birds. I pay greater attention to all of the birds that live around us every day. I use my app to identify the birds and read about them. I’m keeping a running list of birds that I have seen in 2021. We are four months in and I have already identified 27 different birds! Here is my list, so far, in the order that I first spotted them:

Northern cardinals
Northern mockingbirds
Song sparrows
American robins
Carolina chickadees
Cedar waxwings
Great blue herons
Double crested cormorants
Mourning doves
Canada geese
European starlings
Muscovy ducks
Mallard ducks
Eastern bluebirds
American crows
House sparrows
Blue jays
Snow geese
Great egrets
American coots
Eastern kingbirds
Red winged blackbirds
Brown pelicans
Rock pigeons
Gray catbirds
House finches
Mississippi kites

That’s a lot of birds! And to further solidify my crazy bird lady self, I have organized any pictures I take of them into folders on my computer. Granted, it is hard to get good pictures of birds, so many are blurry or far away, but I’m only counting birds on my list if I can at least get some sort of picture to aid me in identification. It’s possible that I have a mis-identification or two, as I’m no expert. But I think most of them are spot on.

Mockingbirds are the most common visitor to my feeders (along with the cardinals). This one even came the day we had an ice storm.

My pictures are all blurry, but the flock of double crested cormorants by the lake at Blue Cross was super fun to watch. They swim like ducks and then take off and fly to perch in the trees.

Canada geese are seen all over Baton Rouge. My husband hates them and thinks they’re mean. But look how pretty!

The Muscovy duck did not show up right away in my app, because it is considered a domesticated duck and not wild. I had to google duck with a red, warty face to learn more about these guys!

Eastern bluebirds have been really hard for me to photograph as they always seem to be flying by quickly. The painting on the right is something I did last night while painting with my daughter, which prompted the original “bird brain” comment from my husband.

I took pictures of these brown pelicans while driving across the Causeway. I see so many birds while driving that I can’t take pictures of (you know, unsafe and all that). But I managed to snap these pics.

I had gone a few months without spotting any pigeons here in Baton Rouge. A visit to my hometown of Gretna, though, finally got me to add one to the 2021 list!

I had just been lamenting how I hadn’t added any hawks or birds of prey to my list yet, because they are always flying so high in the sky, where I can’t identify them. But yesterday I saw this Mississippi kite in a tree from my backyard!

Cardinals are the original bird that got me obsessed. Yesterday, I found out that I had a new nest in my yard! I took a picture of the cute, fluffy baby. Today, he left the nest and has been hopping all around with his parents learning to fly. There are still two more in the nest.